The ELF mineral eyeshadow primer claims to have “ultimate staying power” to “create longer-lasting, crease-proof eyeshadow” and “beautiful and vibrant color that lasts”. According to ELF it is “100% mineral based with no parabens, no preservatives and no chemical dyes”. Yay. Also contains Vitamins A, C, and E to “help prevent aging and moisturize the skin”. Comes in two colors, sheer (being reviewed) and blush.

This primer had a strange texture, almost like a little silicone-y, even though there isn’t silicone actually in it. It dries down to an almost powdery finish. It creates a very smooth surface on the lids though, and intensifies the color of eyeshadows a little weenie bit. It isn’t actually completely sheer, I felt it still had the tiniest bit of color- not enough to really be noticeable, but enough to work towards evening out the color of the lid. A nice little touch, I thought, and unexpected at that.

As for longevity… eh. It was better than the cult classic UDPP (you can read my review here, if you are interested to see what I thought), in my opinion, but still a bit lacking in the long-wear department. By the end of the school day (about 8 hours) my eyeshadow would most likely be creased. I do have very oily eyelids, so I really wasn’t expecting miracles.

To sum up:

I liked it better than the UDPP, but it still didn’t work for me. For those who like the UDPP, I think this would be a fabulous option and a great way to save what, $15? For those whose lids secrete oil at the rate that mine do, we’ll just have to keep looking, unfortunately.

This mascara is advertised as creating “fuller, healthier looking lashes” and add definition while still volumnising. The mascara is supposed to be long-wearing and clump-resistant. The brush is made of silicone, and has even sized bristles placed relatively close together and a tip that tapers off.

I love this mascara! It gives my lashes the most amazing doll-like effect, it separates them and lengthens them nicely. It does NOT stick my eyelashes together so it looks like I have about 5 total, which I do enjoy. The formula is nice and black, and doesn’t clump, flake , run, smudge, or anything on me, but isn’t too hard to get off when I want it off. The packaging is really nice and sleek, as with many ELF Studio or Mineral products it doesn’t look or feel cheap. This is one of my favorite mascaras and yes, it is 3 dollars. 3. You really cannot get much better than that. I would highly recommend this product and would definitely repurchase it!

I was never super excited by the powder version of this duo. But when they came out with a cream version, I was sold. The blush is a very pretty peachy color with almost a hint of terra-cotta in it. The bronzer is a bit orange, but when applied correctly is pretty wearable… if you are not super pale like winter-me. However, it does look really good on more tanned skin, I tried it out on my sister who lives in Houston, and it looks really nice.

I have used this blush several times since opening it, and really love it so far! It is beautiful rose color with a subtle gold shimmer running through it. It gives a gorgeous flush to the skin, and looks really nice on my Caspar-like skin. I think this would also look really nice on darker skin as well, but you might have to use a denser brush (I use a stippling brush)

I have really oily eyelids so I don’t really have high hopes for this primer (read about my experience with the famous Urban Decay primer here). However, I figured since it was $3 I could try it out before trying the more expensive primers. If it does work, then I have saved myself a fair amount of money. If it doesn’t, it was $3.

This looked like a really interesting color, so I figured I would pick it up. I think this would look really good as a smokey eyeliner with a defined upper lash line. I had ordered the color Aubergine too, but they were out of that, apparently. I can’t comment on the quality of the shadow yet as I haven’t done anything more than a quick swatch on my hand.

This is another product that I have worn some since receiving the order, and so far I really like it! It is a pink/brown nude, a very natural color. On my lips it is a very my-lips-but-better color. It seems to be reasonably pigmented. It is a strange texture, more like a gloss than a lipstick, but a very very thick sticky gloss at that. It smells strongly of mint and vanilla and has that tingling sensation you get with plumping glosses, even though this isn’t advertised as being plumping. These features are fine for me, but may put some people off.